Unity 4.6 Has Left Beta With the Promised New Open Source UI

Unity is an incredible engine, no doubt about that, and one that’s used by numerous developers across the globe. In spite of that, the company behind it is not resting on their laurels – not in the slightest. Not only did they add Xbox One support this August, but Unity 4.6 – with a new, customizable UI – also went into beta; a UI which is… open source! Oh and as of yesterday, Unity 4.6 is no longer in beta. Groovy.

Now, what this means is that, following a successful update (remember to back up), you’ll be able to tweak and modify the UI to your heart’s content; maybe even mess with the code behind it, if you’re willing to get your hands dirty (metaphorically speaking). This is a pretty big deal to say the least, as humans, being what they are, tend to have this thing called ‘personal preference’, and when working with an existing engine, restrictions are, well… annoying. Oh, did I mention how they’ve open sourced it via. BitBucket?

Using the included solution file, you can build a UI module that will work as a drop-in replacement for the bundled UI system. To get started with building your own UI module, take a look at the repository’s README file.

But while the new UI is undeniably the headline maker for Unity 4.6, this update does also come with a fun Android addition, among other things, and news of something yet-to-be for iOS fans. First up, Android now has x86 support, letting you “select FAT, x86 or ARMv7 as a build target”, which sounds pretty darn useful. iOS developers, on the other hand, will have to wait until January 2015 for a new Unity toy – the ARM 64-bit “beta preview”. Not a moment too soon either, as come February 2015, new arrivals on the App Store must include 64-bit support. Guess Apple’s phasing out 32-bit support. Maybe. Maybe not.